Case File · Active
A foreign-owned aluminum smelter, emergency moratoriums and a citizen ballot fight at the Port of Inola.
Latest in this investigation · Jul 8, 2026
A Rogers County citizen filed a sweeping grand jury petition naming the mayors of Claremore and Inola, nine councilors, and the county commissioners over secret NDA deals, walking-quorum emails, and a $65,000 records fee demand.
Read the latestLocked meetings, a citizen petition and a fight over the Port of Inola.
This case file collects every story, filing and records request in the investigation.
The Pentagon sent a general. The DOE sent an assistant secretary. Trump sent a letter. The residents of Inola sent them all home and voted unanimously at midnight to freeze the smelter.
Inola's town council passed a 60-day moratorium freezing all smelter permits. Tulsa Ports fired back calling it a "regulatory taking." Now residents are collecting signatures to put the smelter's fate to a public vote.
A $4B aluminum smelter backed by the UAE government is headed for rural Inola, Oklahoma. Residents were kept in the dark by NDAs while officials approved $1.3 billion in new power capacity that could hike electric bills 15%. Now the AG is suing to stop it.
A 3-month rookie officer claims he can enforce fire codes he has no jurisdiction over, blocking citizens from an open public meeting. Then things get physical. Watch what happens next.
